CAS to announce Russian Olympic doping verdicts on Thursday

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — Russian athletes disqualified from the Olympics for life in the Sochi doping scandal will have their appeal verdicts announced on Thursday.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport says it will announce the 39 decisions from the Pyeongchang Olympics at 5 p.m. (0800 GMT) in South Korea.

Some Russians hope to be cleared to compete despite Olympic entries closing last weekend.

The urgent verdicts could be given without the judging panels' detailed reasons being published.

Two CAS panels heard the appeal cases last week in Geneva. They took testimony from Russian whistleblower Grigory Rodchenkov and World Anti-Doping Agency investigator Richard McLaren, who did not attend in person.

An International Olympic Committee disciplinary panel disqualified all 39 from the Sochi Games and imposed life bans from the Olympics.